Fifa World Cup cooling breaks

Fifa is believed to have rejected the argument from the Brazilian players’ union that all 1 pm games be moved to 4 pm, when the temperature is usually lower

During the recent Holland-Mexico match at the World Cup, which the former won, the first-ever cooling breaks in the history of the tournament were taken. Two such breaks, each lasting three minutes, were taken approximately 30 minutes into the run-of-play in both halves of the match.

This new phenomenon in football is the result of a Brazilian labour court ruling earlier this year, which ordered that players must be given breaks after about 30 minutes of play in each of the two 45-minute halves of a soccer match, whenever the ambient temperature exceeds 32° Celsius. In the Holland-Mexico game, there was a maximum temperature of up to 38° Celsius. In Brazil, strict labour laws exist to provide strong protection for people working in sectors of formal employment.

The court was initially considering a 30° Celsius cut-off point but later accepted Fifa’s argument for a 32° Celsius limit. Fifa also rejected an argument from the Brazilian players’ union that all 1 pm games be moved to 4 pm, when the temperature is expected to be lower. According to the new rule, the decision to take cooling breaks will be taken on a match-to-match basis. The medical officer during matches will recommend cooling breaks in each half, but the decision to apply them will rest with the referees alone.

Many, however, were critical of the manner in which the cooling breaks were utilised. Both managers, and in particular Louis van Gaal of the Netherlands, used the breaks to reformulate strategies. Van Gaal used the second cooling break to push the wing-back Dirk Kuyt to play as striker, and altered the 3-5-2 formation into a more aggressive 4-3-3. At that juncture, Mexico was leading Holland 1-0.

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